Lady&#39;s hand bag



May 28, 1935.

W. 0. BENJAFIELD LADYS HAND BAG 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 11, 1932 w. o. BENJAFYIELD LADYS HAND BAG May 28, 1935.

FiledMarch' 11, x932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'ATToRNEY Patented May 28, 1935 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE Application March 11, 1932, Serial No. 598,211 in Canada March 11, 1931 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ladies hand bags, and one object is to provide an illuminating means therein to enable the user of the hand bag to illuminate her per on while 5 making up her toilet. Another object of the invention is to provide a hand bag with an illuminating device, which, may .be used for throwing a light beam upon the face or head of the ,user, or used for illuminating the contents of the hand bag, in dark places, such as theatres, subways or the like; and which may also be operated intermittently or permanently as desired. A still further object of the invention is to provide a bag which may be used as an ordinary flashlight, to enable the user thereof to see her way about in dark places; with this object in view the flap of the bag is provided with an opening. directly in front of the electric lamp which is operable without opening the hand bag; this opening is fitted with a lens through which the light shines, or an ornamental covering may be provided for the opening which is designed to open up when a light beam is required to shine for lighting a path, porch, or doorway. A further object of the invention is to provide a ladys hand bag with an illuminating attachment of simple construction, easy to operate; and readilyattached to the bag at .a low cost. A further object of the invention is to provide a construction permitting the facile insertion and removal of both electric lamps and electric batteries. Reference is now made to the drawings which are a part of this specification,

in which Fig. 1.15 a view in perspective,'showing the attachment applied to a ladys hand bag Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view of the combined reflector and lamp, detached from the hand bag. Fig. 3 is a detail front.elevation of the lamp 40 and holder therefor. I Fig. 4 is a detail vertical view thereof.

9 Fig. 5 is a. detail elevation of the lamp support, showing in section the reflector holding means. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through the switch member.

- Fig. '7 is a. plan view of the switch which is employed to operate the lighting device.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the switch,

taken on line 88 of Fig. '7, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 9 is adetail-side elevation, partly in section, oi the battery and its case, and Fig. 10 shows -the handbag closed, and the opening through which the light beam shines when the lamp is energized. I

electrode of the lamp bulb. This contact ele- (Bi. Mil-6.45)

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one of the formsof the practical embodiment of the invention, a hand bag 5 may be of any type or size and of any material. and is providedwith a back or rear wall 6 and a 5 closure flap I, which is designed to fold over the mouth of the hand bag, and to fasten in any suitable manner to the wall of the bag, in accordance with well known practice. A mirror 9 is provided on the inner side of closure flap l and may be mounted in any desired manner. A lamp and reflector base ID are attached to the rear wall 6 by means of eyelets II or any other suitable means which are formed in the extensions Illa from the base II), which is formed of 5 spring metal to provide the spring jaws I2 and I3. Each lamp gripping jaw is provided with an external trunnion bearing I5. The 'jaw i2 is connected with the base I0 by means of the spring arm I211, while the jaw I3 is connected with thebase iii by the spring arm I3a, said spring arms extending in opposite directions from each other. The base III is connected with a conductor lead It which leads to the battery H, by the folded lugs Illa on the base Ii) or otherwise. These lugs may be clinched upon the end of the conductor wire IS. The base It! is formed with a central hole which is covered by a strip of insulation I9, which is retained in position by means of the folded lugs or flanges on said base In. To this insulation strip IS a second conductor wire 20 is positively connected. This wire 20 is provided with a contact element IS a which is designed to engage the central ment is arcuate so as to maintain contact with the lamp in various positions.

The lamp bulb is secured in the socket 2| of the reflector 22, which may be of anymaterial, conical in form as shown but of any desired shape or form. The socket 2| is preferably threaded to receive the threaded stem I4 of the lamp bulb, which is formed with, trunnions Zia and 2lb on the opposite sides thereof, which are adapted to engage the bearings I5 of jaws I 2 and IS. The construction permits the reflector and the lamp bulb [to be adjusted to various angular positions, so that the light beam may be projected upwardly to the face and head of the user while gazing into the mirror which lies 50 immediately above the light when the flap is opened, or the light beam may be directed into 'the hand bag to illuminate items in the hand means of the switch 23, which is attached to the back wall 6, preferably near the side of the handbag, as shown in the drawings, so that the switch can be readily actuated while the flap and the mirror are held by the hand in the desired position. The switch consists of a case 24, which is secured to the back wall by eyelets 25. The case 24 encloses a switch spring 26, consisting of a flat strip of spring brass or other material, which is fastened at one end and insulated from the case 24, so that its opposite end will be yieldingly held out of contact with the contact element 21, which is secured'to and insulated from the metal case. The metal spring 26 is normally held out of contact with the contact element 21 by its own tension, and ismoved into electrical contact with said element 2! by means of a button 28, which may be formed on the spring 26, or attached thereto. When manual pressure is released from this spring the' circuit through the switch and the lamp will be broken by the reaction of the spring 26. Since the front and rear walls of the handbag are obviously movable towards and away from each other it is apparent that if the end of the handbag which encloses the switch button 28 be pinched by the thumb and forefinger of the hand the switch will be closed at 21 to actuate the lamp. In order to hold the switch closed to permit the user to employ both hands for toilet or other purposes, a ring ,or slide 2611 is arranged to move on the case 24, so as to retain the spring 26 in contact with the element 1 21, or to release the spring for free intermittent movement. The case 24 is preferably of sufficient thickness to protect the switch from accidental operation when the said handbag is closed. In case that the hand bag is equipped with a metal frame which reinforces its walls, the reflector base or retaining means may be mounted against the frame or upon it; the same is true of the switch case which also may be connected with the stiffening frame of the bag when a frame is used.

' The battery I1 is enclosed in the case 29 which is made in two sections 29a and 29b which are coupled together. The section 28a is equipped with a metal spring 29a, which engages one end of the battery, and the section 291) is equipped with a similar metal spring 291) to engage the opposite end of the battery. The conductor lead I6 is connected to the metal section 29b. The spring 29b 'is connected to the wire Ila which is also connected with the switch spring 21, so that current will flow to the electric lamp when this spring or element is manually pressed against the metal switch case to close the circuit. I By separating the two case sections 29a and 2% from each other the battery may be easily taken out and a new one inserted.

The opening in and through the front flap of the hard bag immediately in front of the electric lamp is preferably fitted with a lens 3|, the front portion of which may have engraved or cut thereon, a design such as a star to add to the attractive appearance of the hand bag when closed. In place of the lens any neatly designed covering may be used. It will be understood that the front wall is cut away opposite the lamp, so that in closed position, light will be directed through said lens.

The switch is equipped with a sliding finger piece 26a, which works in a slot 26b formed in the outer wall of the case 24, so that the spring" 26 may be held in contact with the contact element 21, thus causing the electric lamp to be energized without interruption.

Various changes may beresorted to in the design of the hand bag, the design and the construction of the attachments and the manner of arrangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as embraced in the appended claims. What I claim as new is:

1. A ladys handbag comprising in combination front, rear, and side walls forming a pocket, and a fiap connected with the rear wall and foldable over the top of the pocket and over a portion of the front wall, an electric lamp mounted on the upper portion of the inside rear wall and perpendicularly with reference thereto, a battery and electrical conductors mounted in said pocket and connected with said lamp in circuit, a switch in said circuit, said front wall being cut away opposite said lamp, and a lens mounted over and covering an aperture in said flap that is in coincidence with said lamp inthe closed position of said flap.

2.- A ladys handbag comprising in combination front, rear, and. side wallsforming a pocket, said front and rear walls being movable with respect to each other, means attached to the top of the rear wall for closing the pocket; an electric lamp mounted on the upper portion of the inside rear wall and perpendicularly with reference thereto, a battery and. electrical conductors mounted in said pocket and connected with said lamp in circuit, a switch in said circuit having a flexible contact member extending towards an end of said pocket whereby said switch is operable from the outside and through the movable walls of the handbag, said front wall being cut away opposite said lamp, and I a lens mounted over and covering said cutaway portion of the front wall and the electric lamp in the closed position of the handbag.

. WALTER O. BENJAFIELD. 

